Composition
The Kansas flag features a field of dark blue charged with the state seal, centered.
Above the seal is the state’s sunflower crest and below is the word “Kansas” in gold.
Kansas
The Kansas flag was designed and sewn by Lincoln seamstress, Hazel Avery, for a 1925 Fourth of July parade.
It was adopted in 1927, replacing a previous state banner that had been rejected for display in Washington D.C. It was designed to hang from a horizontal bar and wouldn’t fly well next to other state flags.
Avery’s flag was later altered to add “Kansas” below the state seal.
This version was officially adopted September 24, 1961.
Iconography
34 stars
Kansas as the 34th state to join the Union
motto
westward expansion, To the Stars through Difficulties
sunflower
state flower, regional flora
wagon train
westward expansion
Native peoples
the Kansas plains, shared history with Native Americans
rising sun
the east, tradition
steamboat
the Kansas River, commerce
farming
rich agricultural tradition
Coat of Arms
The Kansas seal and coat of arms are credited to state senator John James Ingalls. It is a complicated and detailed design that is often reproduced with poor quality.
Colors
The Kansas flag prominently features blue and gold, with supporting colors within the state seal.
Kansas statute describes the colors of the flag, but doesn’t provide Cable or Pantone values.The hex values here are approximations.
Blue
#002569
Gold
#f1ad02
Orange
#ff660e
Yellow
#feff00
Green
#3cff15
Light Blue
#4ea8ff
Purple
#794488
Brown
#583b19
Construction
The Kansas flag uses a proportion of 3:5.
Kansas statute specifies the proportion and spacing for the flag’s visual elements in feet and inches, which is rendered here.
Previous iteration
Hazel Avery’s original flag design used from 1927 until 1961.
Sources
- Howe, Randy. Flags of the Fifty States: Their Colorful Histories and Significance. Guilford: The Globe Pequot Press, 2002. Print.
- Mitchell, Henry. The State Arms of the Union. Boston: L. Prang & Co, 1876.
- Kansas Statute. Chapter 73. Soldiers, Sailors and Patriotic Emblems. Article 7. Flag and Patriotic Emblems. Section § 73-702. Same; description; form and makeup.
- The Wichita Eagle
- Kansas Historical Society
- Flag of Kansas - Wikipedia